Speeding Up Wireless Network Connection Speeds with Coded TCP

Academic researchers have used algebraic equations to modify the existing Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and evolved it into a new one called coded TCP. It is able to reduce network overheads due to its unique ability to recover lost TCP packets, without the need for them to be resent.

The researchers from MIT, the University of Porto in Portugal, Harvard University, Caltech, and Technical University of Munich came up with the elements of coded TCP that essentially makes packet loss a thing of the past. Coded TCP bundles TCP packets together and transmits them as algebraic equations. In the event that a portion of a packet is lost, the packet receiver can simply make use of the algebraic equation to ascertain what is missing and rebuild it without having to ask the sending party to retransmit the missing binary information.

The researchers also claimed that this new technology can also seamlessly bridge data streams from LTE and Wi-Fi networks as it is beneficial to any IP-based networks. According to Technology Review, several companies have licensed the technology in the recent months while licensing is being done through an MIT/Caltech startup called Code-On Technologies. For more technical information, do read the academic paper on coded TCP put up by the MIT researchers here.